Day of GST implementation in J-K will be remembered: Mehbooba

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India] Jul 7 (ANI): Ahead of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said that the day would be "written in golden words." "After implementation of the GST, all eyes were set on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Our nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee maintained our dignity, we maintained theirs. What we are witnessing today is a day which will be written in golden words," Mufti said, while speaking at the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. She added that the only person, who can bring peace and harmony in the Valley, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jammu and Kashmir, the only State to miss the GST rollout on July 1, will join the new tax regime from tonight as the State Assembly passed a bill in this regard today. The Jammu and Kashmir (GST) Bill 2017, moved by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, was adopted by a voice vote in the absence of Opposition parties which accused the PDP-BJP government of undermining the special status of the State. The bill was moved in the Assembly after a Presidential Order which gave an assurance on preservation of the special status of the State guaranteed by Article 370 of the Constitution. Drabu said the GST regime will roll out in the State at midnight tonight, making Jammu and Kashmir the last State to join the new tax regime. Two days ago, the Assembly had passed a resolution seeking a Presidential Order in view of the special status of the State. The GST was rolled out in the country on July 1 marked by a midnight programme in the Parliament that was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as well as union ministers and several chief ministers. The Congress and some other opposition parties had boycotted that event. (ANI)